This was the original build thread for my EF/EL wagon project. It is now gone, and I have put together an AU S3 V8 Futura wagon. Skip to page 6 for the beginning of the AU story.

This is the EF Futura Wagon I am repairing to use as a family truckster. I started out doing an EA wagon (you can see it in the background of some pics below) as it was a really good body shell. It was a CFI/3 speed car, and the trans was screwed, so we got an ED Futura sedan that had been hail damaged to pirate all the mechanicals from. I was planning to use the entire engine/gearbox/dash/steering column/wiring harness, etc. I had it about half done, when the EF came up. Too good to pass up, and I managed to sell the EA and ED as a project for more than it owed me, plus enough to cover the EF, so it was a win-win situation all round.

The EF was purchased as a repairable write off. It had run into the back of a 4wd. The front bumper was not damaged, as the impact point was above the bumper and chassis rails. It looked like an easy repair, and is a very clean, well maintained car, with dual fuel, and it only cost $400.00.

This is the wagon pretty much as we got it. I had already removed the bumper, front guards and headlights before the pics were taken. As you can see, the damage was all above the chassis rails.

The original wheels had really good tyres on them, and as a couple of the tyres on my ute were becoming a slick tyre, I swapped the wheels over, at least until I could get some new tyres for the 17's. The 15" tyres looked good, but were as hard as a rock. Once I got the 17's back on the ute, the 15's were passed on to Dad for his Futura, and we will get some nice wheels, in a 17" or 18" for the wagon. It currently has a set of EB XR five spokes on it, to keep it rolling.

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EF Wagon 1.JPG

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Look to the top left hand side, you will see the EL ex-taxi that will donate some of its parts for the repair job.

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EF Wagon 4.JPG

The spare wheel has been moved to a vertical position on the rh side, as the wheel well is now full of LPG tank. The spare has a carpeted cover, and seems to be out of the way, and quite a neat way of doing it, I thought.

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I chopped the centre out of the radiator support, so I could get the damaged radiator, fans, etc out of the way. Luckily, the A/C condenser was not damaged. The power steering pump pulley was broken, the battery was crushed, and the bits and bobs in the rhf corner of the engine bay are a lot smaller than they used to be, and in a lot more pieces.

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EF Wagon 6.JPG

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With all the damaged panels removed, I also cut a big piece off the side brace. It will be replaced with a new item, bought new from Ford.

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EF Wagon 13.jpg

Here is the radiator support removed from the EL donor car. After drilling out another eleventy-million spot welds, we decided the apron panel, where the battery tray mounts, was too rusty to use, so after more drilling of spot welds, it was chucked. I have purchased a new panel from Ford to replace this too. The rad support was then sandblasted and primed, all ready to fit.

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Trial fitting the radiator support panel, etc. You can see the new skirt panel on the ground in front of the car.

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This is the new (to me) bonnet, thanks to Joel (ozbmx) for the great deal on the bits.

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While the front was apart, I decided to clean the front of the engine, and I replaced the water pump & pulley, harmonic balancer, front oil seal and belt tensioner pulleys. I also purchased a new drive belt. A quick blast with the gerni and it all looks good again.

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After:

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EF Wagon Engine 2.jpg

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The interior is very neat and tidy, and I am hoping to keep it that way. We purchased a Sony MP3/CD/Radio head unit, to fill the hole in the dash, and some good sony 4" speakers which i will fit in the factory locations, plus a pair of 6" rounds to put in the back. Not too expensive, and good enough for me.

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And that’s about where it’s at. More pics to follow as it happens. The front is in the process of going back together, I will get some more pics when I can. Should be right to paint the engine bay bits in the next week or so, then I will reassemble as much as possible, to the driveable stage at least. Then I will worry about the panels. I only need to paint the bonnet and rhf guard, the lhf guard and bumper are still OK.

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OK, so we have started fitting the repair pieces. I was able to get the wagon into the shed, so no more working out on the grass, in the stinking hot sun. I removed the RHF strut and upper control arm, so we can get inside the tower area to weld it all back together.

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EF Wagon 18.jpg

I also cleaned up the edges of all the areas to be welded, so we could get a nice weld.

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EF Wagon 17.jpg

Then we positioned the skirt panel and clamped it in place.

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I'm glad to have a big shed to work in.

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Once the skirt panel was aligned correctly, we put a few self tapping screws through the corners to secure it. Once everything is perfect, and welded in place, the screws will be removed, and the holes welded up.

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EF Wagon 22.jpg

Next, the radiator support panel was fitted in place.

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With a bit of wiggling and jiggling, and a few more clamps, it was aligned, and then a few more screws were used to hold it in place.

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EF Wagon 25.jpg

And that was where we called it a day. The panels have now been welded in, and are ready to be ground down and prepped for some paint. I will get some more pics this weekend.

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Thanks for the comments guys! It is back on it's wheels now, just time (a lot) and paint (a little bit) and it will be driving again. The plan is to get it all back together and driving, to make sure everything works as it should before I worry about painting the outside bits. The rest of the car should clean up OK with a buff, just need to paint the bonnet and rhf guard, and touch up a few spots here and there.There is a little bit of rust starting to show in both dog legs, so we will fix that too. If the car turns out as nice as I plan, we will probably give the whole thing a respray at a later date, as funds allow.I should get some more pics this weekend.

Also, I may have an EA wagon for sale. Just as a roller, but it is a very nice body shell, if someone wants a project.... I'll let you all know when it is confirmed.Cheers.

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